Budget workstation ideas

[philfromMPC]

Hi all,
I'm currently on an HP z420 workstation (Xeon E5-1620 with 32 GB ram) and thinking of building a new PC. Its for office work, some small graphics and video editing. What should I look for with CPU, motherboard, and ram?

I have a separate videocard (Nvidia GT1030) and PSU and case already that I can use. So I'm looking at CPUs less than $250. I would like the motherboard to handle 3-4 harddrives (SATA or NVME; boot drive and regular storage on SSD; and archive storage on HDD), wi-fi is not a must. For RAM, I'm thinking of having 32GB minimum. I am willing to go with previous generation CPUs if they're still on the market. I don't know which CPUs to look at, so please point me in the right direction. Thanks

 

[travm]

Unless this is an exercise in building a machine cause it's fun, buy another last gen HP workstation.

Otherwise I'd go with an am4 platform 16 thread cpu.

 

[wareyore]

Hi all,
I'm currently on an HP z420 workstation (Xeon E5-1620 with 32 GB ram) and thinking of building a new PC. Its for office work, some small graphics and video editing. What should I look for with CPU, motherboard, and ram?

I have a separate videocard (Nvidia GT1030) and PSU and case already that I can use. So I'm looking at CPUs less than $250. I would like the motherboard to handle 3-4 harddrives (SATA or NVME; boot drive and regular storage on SSD; and archive storage on HDD), wi-fi is not a must. For RAM, I'm thinking of having 32GB minimum. I am willing to go with previous generation CPUs if they're still on the market. I don't know which CPUs to look at, so please point me in the right direction. Thanks

That's an old HP, for sure.

What size PSU? I assume it's a standard ATX. Does it have two 8 pin EPS? Or just one? That could limit your MB options.

What's your total budget?

A CPU for ~$250 could get you close to an intel 13600k. Huge leap from where you are at. And you'll add quick sync as an option for encoding, if that helps. It's handy.
A B760 MB for ~$150 would have all the connectivity you need. Atx or matx form factor should get you 3+ish nvme's and 4 sata, plus the usb upgrades and even wifi/bt.
For DDR5, I'd check the MB QVL list. No reason to experiment, unless you want to play around. If 32GB is still enough then stick with a kit of 2x16GB. If not, bump up to 64G with a 2x32G kit.

AMD has some good offerings in similar price ranges, but, you lose quick sync. So, for me, I prefer Intel for what you described.

I've been using HP z2xx and more recently z2 systems for office work and basic video capture and editing for years. I've built dozens of entry level home gaming pc's from their sff and mid tower lines. It would be a legit option to get a newer one. But, it won't be as good of a value for money proposition as you'll get with a custom build. A G4 series is affordable, but based on an much older cpu/system.

I upgraded to an i5-12600k in a custom sff case with two NVME's and an SFF 4060 and it does for me what it sounds like you need - all office apps run great, OBS for 4k multicam captures and camtasia for editing, handbrake for encoding. You can get the 12600k a bit cheaper than the 13 series. But, I'd splurge a little, if I were you.